Doctors are again calling for an end to the “inhumane” mandatory detention of asylum seekers which they say can mentally scar children for life.
“The evidence is in, and it’s irrefutable – Australia’s detention of asylum seekers is harmful to both adults and children,” says Professor Nicholas Talley.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians president quotes Nelson Mandela and Ghandi in an Australian Medical Journal article in which he says doctors have a responsibility to hold policymakers to account.
He urged his colleagues to lobby their local MPs, despite a recent poll showing 34 per cent of the community thinks the government is taking “the right approach”.
It also found 27 per cent believed it is “too soft”.
“We suggest public views are fed by fear and systematic exposure to misinformation about `illegals’ and `queue jumpers’,” he said.
“Detained children experience significant language and developmental delays, sleep and behaviour disorders, mental health conditions and inadequately treated physical health conditions at greater rates than refugee children who are not detained.”
The mental conditions include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidality.
“There are no circumstances, from a health perspective, in which conditions in detention are acceptable.”
Last month doctors called on the government to amend legislation that prevents them from speaking out about failures in detention centre health care.
As at March 31, 1848 people, including 124 children, were detained in onshore facilities and 1707, including 103 children, were detained on Nauru.